With all this, it gets easier all the time to make the choice to consume… instead of to create. Creating is work; mental labor, at least. It requires energy and focus. You’ve got to give to get.

Some music, books, films do require a real commitment for comprehension, real mental energy, but much of what we take in doesn’t require giving a whole lot. Our ears or eyeballs, maybe, and some minimal attention. If I’m in the mood to check out, I’m coaxed to do so from every direction.

Alternately, there are the rewards of creating, producing. Often not as immediate, quite often frustrating, but still… it’s satisfying to create something that does more than get me through the next hour or two.

For me the battle is between checking in (produce, create)… and checking out (consume someone else’s creation). This conflict goes on with some regularity. (Of course it’s essential to be thrilled and inspired by the great work of others… but not at the expense of neglecting my own efforts).

I remember realizing many years ago that I wanted to be a creator far more than I wanted to be a consumer. But just because I knew what I wanted didn’t make it easy to follow through.

My days have been a struggle between, on one hand, the forces of inertia leading to entropy and, on the other, the drive to create, to make something of my emotions and inner life as well as what I see around me.

Which side comes out ahead?

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